A Shady Character

Today I became that person. A shady character. Trying to get three kids out of the house so we could get to my first grader's awards ceremony EARLY drove me to that point. Has anyone else subconsciously thought that the diaper bag on your shoulder was your purse? You know, the purse that contains your car keys, house keys, phone, and credit cards. Yeah, that one. Not until I had slammed the front door did I realize that I did not have my purse.

No problem, right? That's why you keep a key hidden, for times like these. So I put all three kids in the van and went to get the key. Except it wasn't there. Apparently, I hadn't put it back the LAST TIME I was locked out.

But again, no problem, right? That's why we have neighbors. Except my favorite neighbors were already at the awards ceremony, and my next-favorite neighbors had gone AWOL. (Yeah, a few times ago, the purse became locked in a running vehicle. Again those neighbors were AWOL. I had to "borrow" their "ON TOPS" new roof sign [from under their front porch] to slim jim my car window. I wish I were making this up.)

So, hoping we had some junk credit card applications in the mailbox, I then checked the mail. No such luck. I knew if I could just get my hands on a credit card, I could get in my house!
So I ran across the street and hastily introduced to myself to my neighbor's new husband. I then asked him if he had an old MVP card I could borrow. You know, I didn't think I would leave a great first impression if I outright asked to borrow a credit card. He generously offered to get some tools and come help me. Well, the tools didn't work. That's when I informed him that I usually use a credit card or an old shoppers card to get the door open. He looked a little shocked, and stammered something about "never breaking in with a credit card before." But he offered me his AARP card. (I really did ask him if he had an old grocery card - I didn't want to mess anything up!) Well , in less than 15 seconds, I was in the house. But I think my neighbor is now wondering why in the world his stay-at-home neighbor is so adept at jacking open a door with a credit card.

Miraculously, we made it to the awards ceremony on time. (I was envisioning the Principal, also known as my Husband, calling Thomas's name for an award and discovering, and then having to announce, that he was not there to receive it. How tacky would that be! And how angry would he be....)

So anyways, here is a picture of Thomas and his friends Bryson and Lane after the ceremony. Aren't they cute? These little guys have been buddies since they were taking toys from each other in the church nursery. Whew! Glad we didn't miss this last day of first grade!